Berkeley homes slowly get more climate friendly
5-minute read
This Week
Berkeley homes slowly get more climate friendly
Electric cars almost never run out of juice
Hot ocean causing more sick and dead birds
Good fires prevent much worse damage and pollution
Brief climate news
Climate jargon explained
Contacts for Santa Cruz County
Unrelated advice
Click on the underlined links to learn more.
About me
I’m Rex Sanders, a science writer who’s lived in Santa Cruz County more than 20 years. Each week I check dozens of reliable sources for climate news that affects our county. Focused on how we can create a better future together.
Berkeley homes slowly get more climate friendly
Illustration of a home with many climate friendly upgrades, from SolarEast
Analysis: Berkeley now requires some climate friendly improvements for existing homes when they’re sold. So if a house has natural gas heating, water heater, stove, or dryer, they could be replaced with high-efficiency electric versions. Other upgrades count, including rooftop solar power, big home batteries, and electric car chargers.
Housing in California makes a big chunk of our climate pollution:
Graph of climate pollution by source, modified from California ARB
Depending on the home, the upgrades could cost tens of thousands of dollars, though most will be much less. Yet half the houses recently sold in Berkeley cost more than $1.6 million.
Another option is for the seller and buyer to each put $2,500 into a city escrow account. If the upgrades aren’t made in 2 years, Berkeley keeps the money.
Quotes: “Homes that are already electrified will be perceived as more move-in ready,” said real estate broker Megan Micco. “We’re really excited any time we get listings that already have these upgrades.”
Limitations: Paying the city $5,000 instead of installing upgrades is a pretty big loophole. But the improvements should increase the value of the home.
Actions: Let your county supervisors and city council members know you want them to pass a law like this, without the loophole. It would gradually reduce climate pollution, indoor air pollution, and outdoor air pollution. See Contacts for Santa Cruz County below.
Source: Todd Woody, L.A. Times, 4-minute read
Electric cars almost never run out of juice
Hyundai electric car, from Hyundai
Detailed statistics from 10,000 electric cars show that it’s very rare for them to get close to empty. And they almost never run out of juice. Electric car owners rarely worry about it. In over 3 years, I’ve never run out. Filling my electric car at home costs about $25 for more than 200 miles of driving.
“People are so accustomed to going to the gas station and filling up the tank,” said Andrew Wright, who sells both gas and electric cars. Electric vehicles are a little different. “You hook up to the [public] charger, you sit there for five minutes or whatever, you get enough juice to get home or to your destination.” Then you charge overnight for a full battery.
On longer trips, I use apps to find fast chargers. Then add enough to get to the next one or my last stop. Many hotels and resorts have chargers to fill up overnight. If you are staying with friends, a plain old 120-volt outlet can add 50 miles or more in one night.
And companies are installing more fast chargers all the time. In 15 minutes they can add about 2 hours of driving time to most electric cars.
Recurrent, 4-minute read
Hot ocean causing more sick and dead birds
Pelicans at a bird rescue clinic, from the article
Pelicans and other ocean birds are turning up dying or dead on California shores. Most experts think that is caused by ocean temperatures much higher than normal. In some places they are breaking records day after day. This extreme marine heat wave affects almost all life in the ocean.
Higher ocean temperatures reduce nutrients for the algae eaten by small fish like sardines. And the fish that these birds eat move to cooler, deeper waters.
“[Seabirds] have to keep warm, they have to swim after their prey,” said Krysta Rogers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “If they miss a meal or two, that can tip them over the edge.”
Experts see “tremendous” numbers of dead birds. Including thousands of dead chicks in nesting areas. Friends are seeing a lot more dead birds on county beaches. And more birds get injured from fishing gear, as they look for food around fishing piers.
But there’s some good news. Whales, dolphins, and sea lions don’t seem to be affected. Yet.
To report dead or sick California seabirds, call 1-877-WNV-BIRD (968-2473).
Susanne Rust and Lila Seidman, L.A. Times, 4-minute read
Good fires prevent much worse damage and pollution
Firefighter lighting a good fire in California, from the article
Good fires are also called controlled burns, prescribed burns, prescribed fires, or cultural fires. New research shows that good fires and forest thinning prevent much bigger fires. Over 6 years, good fires cost about $750 million while preventing almost $3 billion in damages. And they prevented a lot of air pollution, climate pollution, illness, and deaths.
But some people don’t want them. So we aren’t using good fires enough.
“The biggest threat in California and much of the American West is high-severity wildfires,” said John Battles at UC Berkeley. “We have to get a handle on the wildfire crisis.”
Even after our 2020 CZU wildfires, Santa Cruz County has lots of forest that needs good fires. Support plans for them, especially if you live nearby. Your house and neighborhood will be much safer after that.
Steve Rodas, Inside Climate News, 6-minute read
Brief climate news
Last month, for the first time, wind power and solar power generated more electricity than natural gas worldwide. Clean electricity has doubled in five years. Ember, 3-minute read
New installs of U.S. big utility batteries in January, February, and March increased almost one-third over last year. Solar Power World, 3-minute read
Sea level rise keeps speeding up. Mostly from ocean water expanding as it gets warmer, and glaciers melting. Eos, 3-minute read
This year’s World Cup of soccer will make twice as much climate pollution as recent tournaments. Matches spread across Canada, U.S., and Mexico mean a lot more air travel. LA Times, 6-minute read
Low cost hydration packs help farmworkers stay healthier in hot weather. And farms are getting hotter. Yale Climate Connections, 5-minute read
Climate jargon explained
Big utility battery: Utility-sized rechargeable battery that stores clean electricity for later use, also called a battery energy storage system or BESS
Clean electricity: Cheaper electricity from clean energy
Clean energy: Cheaper energy from the sun, wind, dams, or underground heat, that creates very little air pollution or climate pollution
Climate friendly: Better for our climate than other choices
Climate pollution: Gases in the air that trap the Sun’s heat and cause climate change, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, also called greenhouse gases or carbon pollution
Electric car: Car that runs on an electric motor and a large rechargeable battery
Electric vehicle (EV): Any kind of vehicle that runs on electric motors and a large rechargeable battery, including cars, trucks, trains, and boats
Good fire: Carefully setting a fire to prevent fires, reduce fire damage, and improve forest health, also called controlled burn, prescribed burn, prescribed fire, or cultural fire
Marine heat wave: Unusually warm sea water lasting for months, also called an ocean heat wave
Methane: Climate pollution gas 80 times worse than carbon dioxide, second-worst cause of climate change, but it doesn’t last as long
Natural gas: Fuel pumped from underground, almost all methane, that adds climate pollution when it leaks, and when it’s burned for power or heat
Rooftop solar power: Solar panels mounted on a roof, supplying electricity
Sea level rise: Increase in sea level caused by global overheating that melts glaciers and expands seawater, also called rising seas
More at climatejargon.com
Contacts for Santa Cruz County
City council: Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, or Capitola, depending on where you live
County supervisors
County Resource Conservation District
Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC)
Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) and PG&E
State Assembly: Gail Pellerin, Dawn Addis, or Robert Rivas, depending on where you live
State Senate: John Laird
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Air Resources Board (CARB), and Energy Commission (CEC)
Governor Gavin Newsom
U.S. Congress: Jimmy Panetta or Zoe Lofgren, depending on where you live
U.S. Senate: Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff
Unrelated advice
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
William Shakespeare